William hadden



(No Model.)

W. HADDEN.

RAILROAD SIGNAL. No.273 514. Patented Mar.6,1883.

N sssssss mom -1w. wmmmmn c I NITJED I STATES PATE T FETCH \VILLIAMHADDEN, OF BROOKLYN, ASSIGNOR TO THE AMERICAN RAILWAY SIGNAL COMPANY, OFNEW'YORK, N. Y.

RAILROAD-SIGNAL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 273,514, dated March 6,1883.

I Application filed April 7, 1882. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, WILLIAM HADDEN, ofBrooklyn, Kings county, State of New York, have invented an Improvementin Railroad- Signals, of which the following description, in connectionwith the accompanying drawings, is a specification.

This invention relates to an electrical railway-signal apparatus of thatclass in which the signal is moved to one position, preferably thesafety position, by the action of an electric current of short duration,automatically applied by thetrain when it becomes removed from thesignal a sufficieut distance to no longer requireits protection, or, inother words, when it passes otf from the block-section guarded by thesaid signal. After being thus moved by the actuating-current of shortduration the signal is retained or locked by the action of a currentwhich has not power, or is not properly applied, to move the saidsignal, but is suflicient to hold it, the said current remainingnormally in action, but being momentarily interrupted by the action of atrain passing a point where it requires the protection of the saidsignal, or, in other words, en-

tering the block-section guarded by it.

The present invention has for its object to simplify the circuitsemployed; and it consists mainly in a novel arrangement of the batteriesand conductors, in combination with novel circuit-controllinginstruments actuated by the passing trains.

in a signal apparatus for a single-track railway upon which the trainsrun in both directions it is necessary to set a signal at the remote endof the section upon which the train is entering, to warn other trainsmoving in an opposite direction, or toward the said train by which thesignal is set, as well as to set a signal at. the point where the trainenters the section, towarn trains following in'the same direction, andboth the said signals have to be restored to their normal or safetyposition when thetrain leaves the section, all these operations beingindependent of the direction in which the train traverses the section.The restoration of the signals at both ends of the section to theirnormal position by the action of the train leaving either end of thesaid section has been heretofore accomplished by extending the conductorfrom one pole of! the battery through the actuating-magnets of all thesignals to be operated simultaneously and to all the points from whichthey are to be op- 5 erated, thus necessitating that the said conductorshall traverse the section twice, while the other'pole of the battery isgrounded,or has a conductor extending to the said points .from which thesignals are to be operated, so that the two conductors can be connectedat the said points to thus complete the circuit of the battery throughthe said conductors and magnets.

In the present invention the actuating-battery is divided into twoportions, which are located at the ends of the section or. points fromwhich the signals are to be operated by the train, the said portions ofthe battery each being controlled by an instrument operated by '70 thepassing train in such a manner as to throw them upon the line passingthrough the magnet, each battery being controlled by the instrumentlocated near it in such manner that the double conductor extending thelength of 7 the block-section is not required. The two portions of thebattery are preferably placed to normally oppose one another, thusproducing no effect upon the magnet, and in this case thecircuit-controlling instruments may be such as to remove thecorresponding portion of the battery from the line, leaving the other toact unopposed, or, preferably, to reverse the position of thecorresponding portion of the battery in the line, thus making the twoportions act in conjunction when the said instrument is operated by thetrain. When the batteries are thus set in opposition to one another inthe circuit containing the signal-actuating magnets, it will be seenthat by grounding the said circuit at an intermediate point, orconnecting it with the returnwire from the batteries, if a completemetallic circuit is employed, two independent circuits will be formedfor the said batteries each of 5 which will operate the signals themagnets of which are in circuit therewith.

As herein shown, the same magnet is em ployed both to actuate and lockthe signals, the said magnetbeing in a normally-closed 10o circuit,having a small battery-powerthereon, sufficient to enable the saidmagnet to hold Lin the armature up to the poles thereof, but not Isufficient to enable it to move the said armature up to the poles whenin its remote position or retracted therefrom. The actuatingbatteries,which are normally opposed to one another, and consequently neutral, ormay be, if desired, normally removed from the circuit, have sufficientpower, when acting in conjunction or when acting unopposed, to move thesaid armatures from their remote position up to the poles of the magnet,where they will be retained by the action of the weaker current, afterthe said actuating-batteries have been removed 0 again set in oppositionto one another.

Figure 1 is a diagram showing the circuitsandcircuit-eontrollinginstrumentsconstrueted in accordance with thisinvention, the batteries being set in opposition to one another and thecircuit-controlling instrument operated by the train being constructedto reverse the connection of the battery adjacent to it; Fig. 2, asimilar diagram, in which the circuitcontrolling instrument removes thebattery controlled by it, leaving the other battery to act unopposed;Fig. 3, a modification in which independent magnets are employed toactuate and hold the signal; and Fi 4, a perspective view, showing aform of apparatus that may be employed for controlling the circuits bythe passing trains.

The signal a- (one only of which is shown in Fig. 1, the others allbeing similar to it) consists of the usual colored banner or disk, whichis mounted on an arm, I), pivoted at2 in themclosing-case A, which ismounted upon a post, or otherwise supported in suitable positionrelative to the track, to enable the said signal a to be seen by theengineer through the opening 0 in the said case A when the said signalis placed behind the said openin Thelever b is connected by a link orrod, d, with the free end of an armature-lever, c, pivoted at 3, andprovided with an armature, f, for the electromagnet g. The weight of thesignal (I, is sufticient to turn it on its pivot 2 into position behindthe opening 0, except when the said weight is sustained by theattraction of the magnet g on the armature f. Thus when the magnet g isdemagnatized the sign-ale drops into view through the opening 0, and thearmatnrefis by the same movement removed a definite distance from thepoles of the magnet g, the weight of the signal forming a retractor forthe said armature.

The main line 20 consists of a conductor connecting the magnets g, whichare placed at the ends of a suitable length of track to constitute ablock, upon which only one train is permitted to be at any one time. Theother terminals of the magnets g at either end of the section arecontinued by wire 21 to a circuitbreaker, h, which is normally closed,but adapted to be automatically opened by the train in passing, and fromwhich the circuit is continued by wire 22 to the circuit-controllinginstrument 1.

The actuating-batteries B have one pole, as the one marked, connected bywire 23 with a contact-point arranged to connect with one portiomj, ofthe circuit-con trolling instrument i when in its normal positiomand thesame or negative pole is also connected by wire 25 with a contact-pointarranged to connect with another portion, k, of the said instrument whendepressed or moved from its normal position, which is done automaticallyby the train leaving the section of track guarded by the signal. Theother pole of the battery is also con nected by wires 24 26 with twocontact-points, each arranged to be in contact with the other portion ofthe said key '5 than that connected with the negative polein eitherposition of the saidkey. Thetwoportionsikofthesaidinstrument areinsulated from one another, as shown at 38, and one portion isconnected, as before mentioned, with the lines 20 21 22, including themagnets g, and the other portion is con nected by the contact-piece lwith the ground or return wire, these connections remaining the same inall positions of the instrument.

The batteries B at each end of the section have similar poles connectedwith the corresponding portion of the circuit-controlling instruments iwhen in their normal position, as shown in full lines, Fig. 1.

The circuit may be traced as follows when the circuit-controllinginstruments are in their normal condition: Beginning with the earth atone end of the section, the circuit passes by the contact piece l to theportion I; of the circuit-controlling instrument t, thence by wire 26 tothe positive pole of the battery B, and from the negative pole thereof,by wire 23, to the portion j of the instrument 2', thence by wire 22,through the circuit-breaker IL, wire 21, magnet g, and wire 20 to theother end of the section, where it is continued through magnet g, wire21, circuit-breaker h, wire 22, portion j of the instrument '5, wire 23,battery B, wire 26, portion of the instrument i and contactpieceltotheearth. The batteries B thus have like poles to line and like poles tothe ground, and consequently neutralize one another, they being of equalstrength. An additional battery,B, is included in the circuit, theeii'ect of which on the magnet g is sufticient to hold the armaturefwhen near the poles of their magnets, but is not sufficient to cause thesaid armatures to move up to the poles when in their remote position, orwhen the signal a is in line with the opening 0, indicating danger.

When one of the instrumentst'is depressed the portionsj 70 thereof arebrought into con: tact with the wires 24 25 and removed from the wires23 26, so that the positive pole of the adjacent battery B is thenconnected with the line and the negative pole with the earth, and thesaid battery consequently acts in conjunction with the battery at theother end of the section. The two batteries B, when thusplaeedinconjunction, produce a sutficient force in the magnetsg toattract their armatures from their remote position and raise the signalsat out of sight, as shown in full 'lines, I track of the block-sectionare removed it is de- Fig.1.

In operation, when a train enters the section from either end, thesignal being raised, it tirstoperates upon the instrument t, reversingthe connections of the battery B at that end, which produces no effectupon the signal, as the armature fis already attracted to the poles ofits magnet. As soon as the train passesthe said instrument t is restoredto its normal position, and the train in its further movement acts uponthecircuit-breaker h at the same end of the section, which opens thecircuit and wholly demagnetizes the magnets g, permitting theirarmatures to be retracted and the signals a to fall into the dangerposition. As soon as the train passes the said circuit-breaker h thelatter closes, leaving the battery B on the circuit, which, as beforementioned, has not sufficient strength to move thearmatures f from theirremote position, so that the signals remain displayed, indicating thatthe section is occupied, and warning another train notv to enter. Whenthe train has traversed the section it first operates thecircuit-breaker h at the other end thereof, which produces no efl'ectupon the signals, as they are already in their danger position, and whenit passes the said circuitbreaker the lattercloses, after which thetrain, in leaving the section, operates the instrument 2', reversing theconnection of the adjacent battery B, thus causing the two batteries Bto act in conjunction and giving the magnets g sufficient power toattract the armaturesf and raise thesignals. As soon as the train haspassedlthe instrument 1' the latter assumes its normal position,rthebatteries B being again opposed, and the battery 13 then acting toretain the signals in thefsat'ety position. The circuit-controllinginstrument 1 may be operated as shown in Fig. 4, it being mounted on arock-shaft, I, provided with a treadle, k arranged to be depressed bythe flanges of the wheels, thus rocking the said instrument t' on itspivotal point and changing the circuit-connections. The said parts willbe restored to their normal position after the train has passed by theaction of a spring, L, and they will preferably be made slow-moving, sothat the spring will not have time to restore the device between theimpulses of the successive wheels. The invention is not limited to theemployment of a circuit-closer of this construction, and no claim ismade for the said circuit-closer by itself.

It is sometimes desirable to operate the signals otherwise than by atrain entering and leavingthe section. For instance, if theblocksec'tion contains a railway-switch or a drawbridge, or other causefor producing an obstruction or break in the line of the track, it isdesirable for the attendant operating the said switch or draw-bridge tobe able to set the signals to danger, which may be done by breaking thecircuit 20 by the electrical switch m, moving it to the position shownindotted lines. After the obstructions or breaks in the sirable to restorethe signals to their safety position, which may be done by groundingboth portions of the line 20, thus bringing the batteries B into twodistinct circuits, in which they act independently upon the signals g inthe said circuits.

m, connected with the ground, and so placed relative to the button 0,upon which the switch m rests when closing the line 20, that in thereturn movement of the said switch from the dotted to the full lineposition it will rest on both of thesaidbuttons simultaneously before itfinally comes to rest on the button 0 alone. This will complete thecircuit from the ground, connected with the button a through the switchm, and before-described circuits to the ground at one end of thesection, and. from the said button a, through the switch at and button0, through the circuit before described, to the ground at the other endof the section, thus causing each one of the batteries B to actindependently upon the magnet 9, between it and the switch m, andrestoring the signals to the safety position, where they will beretained by the action of the battery B, as be fore described, after theswitch m has passed 011' from the button it and remains on the button 0alone.

In the modification shown in Fig. 2 the circuit-controlling instruments1 are arranged to remove one of the batteries B from thecircuit, leavingthe other one to act unopposed, either one alone being snt'ficient tomove the signal from the danger to the safety position. In this instancethe line-wire 22 is connected with thecircuit-controllinginstrumenti,which i naturally rests in contact withthe wire 23, connected with the same pole of the battery This may bedone bypro-' vidin g a button or an vil-piece, n, for the switch B ateach end of the section, while the other that the battery B at theadjacent end of the section is removed from the circuit,which passesfrom the earth by wires 27 and 28 to the instrument t and line, which ittraverses, to the instrument '5 at the other end of the section, and iscompleted by wire 23, battery B, and wire 27 to the ground. Eitherbattery B alone is sufficient to move the signal, and in otherparticulars the apparatus operates the same as described in Fig. 1.

In'the modification shown in Fig. 3 independent magnets are employed tomove the signals, and to retain them when thus moved. The circuit of theactuating-magnets g is the same as that of the magnets gin Fig. 1,except that there is no additional battery B and no circuit-breaker h;

The batteries -13 are of equal strength, and

when opposed to one another, as in the normal condition of theinstruments 1', the magnets g are wholly demagnetized.

The holding-magnets g are in an entirely independent circuit containingthe battery B and circuit-breakers h, the said magnets 9 when acted uponby the said battery 13, being sufficient to bold, but not to move, thearmature-levers e. In this case, when the signals are to be operatedfrom an intermediate point, the circuit of the magnets g has to bebroken to set the signals to danger, and the circuit of the magnets ghas to be grounded to restore the said signals to the safety position,the circuit of the magnets g being closed to retain them in said safetyposition before the said ground is removed from the circuit of themagnets g. The circuit of the magnets 9 may be opera-ted by a switch, m,and anvilpiecesn 0,the formerconnected with the ground, exactly asdescribed in connection with the other tigures, while the circuit of themagnets g may be controlled by a switch, at, mechanically connected by alink, 122 with the switch m, and arranged to make contact with itsbutton to close the circuit before the switch at is removed from thebutton a.

Thisinvention is not limited to any particular construction of thecircuit-controlllng instruments h or i, or to the particularconstruction of the signal and its operating-levers, as any signal themovements of which are controlled by similar changes in the condition ofan electro magnet or magnets may be employed. Any form ofcircuit-changing instruments arranged to be automaticallyoperated bythetrain may be employed, numerous varieties of which are well known,having been fully described in prior English and United States patents.Circuit-controlling instruments suitable for this purpose will form thesubject of another application for Letters Patent.

When it is not desired to operate the signals from any intermediatepoint in the section it is obvious that the batteries B may be normallyremoved from the circuit, or, in other words, the apparatus shown inFig. 2 could be employed with the instruments t" normally in theopposite position to that shown-via, in connection withthe wire28-anddisconnected from the wire 23, so that when one of the said keys isdepressed the adjacent battery would be thrown on the line instead ofremoved therefrom.

I claim- 1. The signal and the electro-magnet by which it is controlled,combined with two independent batteries, both normally in circuit withthe said magnet, but acting in opposition to one another, and acircuit-controlling instrustrnment for one of the said batteries,automatically operated by the passing train, by means of which the saidbattery is removed from opposition to the other in the circuit of thesaid signal-controlling magnet, substantially as and for the purposedescribed.

2. In a railway-signal apparatus, the combination of the signals, theiractuating-magnets, and circuit therethrough, with independentactuating-batteries normally in circuit with the said magnets andopposed to one another, and corresponding independent circuit-changinginstruments at each end of the block-section automatically actuated bythe train, by means of which the battery at either end of the sectionmay be made to act unopposed by that at the other end, substantially asdescribed.

3. The signal and electro-magnet and its armature to operate it,combined with a normally-closed circuit through the said magnet, andgenerator therein of snfticientpower to cause the magnet to hold thesaid armature when attracted, but insnfiicient to move it whenretracted, and an actuating-battery normally inactive in the saidcircuit, and a circuit-controlling instrument therefor, operated by thetrainin passing, by which the said battery may be caused to act in thesaid circuit, substantially as and for the purpose described.

4. The signal and electro-magnet and armature by which it isactuated,combined with two batteries normally set in opposition in the circuit ofthe said magnet, and an electric switch, by means of which the conductorjoining one pair of like poles of the said batteries may be connectedwith the conductor or ground forming the circuit-connection between theother pair of like poles, and an independent circuit thus formed foreach battery, in which it acts unopposed, as and for the purposedescribed.

5. The signal-actuating electro-magnet and armature, and circuit throughthe said magnet, connected with one portion of a circuit-controllinginstrumcnt, the other portion of which is connected with the groundorother terminal of the circuit, combined with a battery having its twopoles respectively connected with the two portions ot'the saidinstrumentwhen in its normal position,the said poles also beingconnected with contact-points by which the said poles are connected ininverse order with the same portions of the said instrument when movedfrom its normal position, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM HAD DEN.

